No move to resume Intercity in Rourkela of Odisha

ROURKELA: The abrupt discontinuation of Koraput-Rourkela Intercity Express since July 2017 has come as a huge blow for the tribal dominated districts of Sundargarh and Koraput. Amid poor railway and road connectivity facilities to Koraput, this was an important train as it was connecting western part of the State with southern districts. Even as public resentment is brewing against the South Eastern Railway (SER), the ruling BJD has described it as another instance of Centre’s neglect towards Odisha.

Sources said the train continues to remain cancelled from July 16 last year following collapse of a small bridge between Titlagarh and Rayagada section of East Coast Railway during flood. Though the route was restored later, the SER has not taken any initiative to resume the train service. At present, Howrah-Jagdalpur Samaleswari Express is the only train to connect Sundargarh with Koraput covering about 670 km. The other option is arduous journey of 18-20 hours in a rickety OSRTC bus leaving Rourkela in the afternoon.

Meanwhile, a delegation of the BJP, led by Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram and Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, met Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on December 28 seeking his intervention in resuming the train service and sort out two other railway-related issues.The BJP delegation said the discontinuation of Koraput-Rourkela Intercity Express has badly affected train communication between the two districts. People from these areas visiting HAL, Sunabeda and Nalco, Damanjodi besides Hindalco mines in Koraput are facing untold difficulties, they said.

In a scathing attack on the BJP-led NDA Government, BJD’s district working president Sarada Prasad Nayak this train was introduced to connect western with southern Odisha after waiting for a long time. The abrupt discontinuation of the train with no valid reason is a major blow and another instance of insensitivity of the Centre towards  Odisha, he added.A spokesperson of the SER in Chakradharpur Division said after cancellation of the train in July last year, the SER has not given permission to resume its service.

Railway apathy
 The train was cancelled following collapse of a small bridge between Titlagarh and Rayagada section of East Coast Railway during flood
Though the route was restored later, SER has not taken any initiative to resume train service
Howrah-Jagdalpur Samaleswari Express is the only train to connect Sundargarh with Koraput